Citations are an essential element for local SEO success. When your business is mentioned in reliable online directories, it sends a signal to Google that your company exists. A local citation is any online reference to the partial or full name, address, and telephone number of a local business, also known as NAP data. These citations can appear in local business directories, websites and apps, and on social media platforms.
Citations not only help people discover local businesses but also have an impact on local search engine rankings. Having high-quality citations can help you rank accurately in Google's local search results. Businesses can actively manage their citations to ensure data accuracy and prevent any negative impact on local search rankings. Citations don't need to be linked to you, but Google evaluates them as a local signal to determine an entity's online authority. A local SEO citation is a mention of your company information on a third-party website.
At a minimum, it should include your company name, address, and phone number. These are useful resources for local consumers and often appear at the top of search results when a local search is performed. Moz Local extracts all the corresponding listings related to your website from the main local indexing platforms and shows any inconsistencies it finds. However, since many platforms also offer a backlink to the company's website, the practice of creating local SEO citations has been exploited over time. Research shows that citations are the fifth most important ranking factor for the visibility of local packages and the fourth most important signal for local organic search results. Building a strong foundation for your company's online presence by creating ethical and sustainable local SEO citations is essential. Google Maps isn't represented as a citation, but in reality, GMB and Google Maps work together to provide the most popular online local SEO citation tool.
This makes it especially important for local companies to control the accuracy of their data, so that inaccurate data is discovered and corrected. Search engines rely on local citations to collect data about companies, validate them, and increase the chances that the company will rank well in local SERPs. Local SEO citations are online directories for companies to provide their most important information. If you're not creating local citations, you're missing out on the enormous potential for your business to be discovered locally.
Increase your local SEO visibility with easy directory distribution, review management, listing updates, and more. Creating ethical and sustainable local SEO citations is essential for businesses looking to improve their rankings in Google's local search results.
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